Nocks Too Tight

[Drewster]

What kind of arrow flight problems are caused by nocks being too tight on the string?  I've recently gotten new strings for a couple of bows and am having a problem resizing nocks to fit the various strings well.

Is it better to reserve the strings or heat the nocks and make the adjustments?

Thanks for your help.

[Shedrock]

I would not heat the nocks. If they fit a bit tight, use a very small rat-tail file or sandpaper on them.

[Stumpkiller]

I fold a piece of sandpaper over a toothpick and work the notch fit that way.

[Rick Richard]

I prefer heating the mocks in hot water and resizing. I have never had any problems with this method thus far and would rather maintain as much material as possible per design.

Just my way.

[briarjumper12]

I heat em up too. Never had no problems.

[stagetek]

No need to heat anything. Take a piece of 75-100 grit sandpaper, fold it over, and run it back and forth between the nock. Keep checking for a good fit. It won't take much.

[joekeith]

Well I'm with Ricky Rich and Briajumper on this one.  Just heat the water to boiling then stick the nock in for 5-10 seconds and try it, if still too tight dip again for 15-20 seconds.  That oughtta be plenty.  Quick easy fix.  

[Thare1774]

Reserve the string if you have the ability. Nocks are "precision" components, any modification potentially weakens the nocks. To me, the risk of blowing a nock and having essentially a dry fire from a modified nock is not worth it. I have too much money invested in these bows to risk damaging them over a few minutes of serving. Seen it happen on all types of bows when people modify their nocks. Just my $.02

[Drewster]

Thanks for all the info on how to adjust the nock size, but "What kind of arrow flight problems are caused by nocks being too tight on the string?"

[Swamp Yankee]

It's so much easier to reserve one string than to mess with all those nocks.  Plus no worries about weakened or misaligned nocks.

My experience with nocks being too tight was erratic arrow flight; simple as that.

[NothingHappenedToday]

My arrows will hit to the left when my nocks are too tight, and have a cork-screw flight on the way to the target. I guess that I'm losing speed or hitting the riser with my arrows. I use the hot water trick, never had a nock failure.

[BowDiddle]

Originally posted by NothingHappenedToday:
My arrows will hit to the left when my nocks are too tight, and have a cork-screw flight on the way to the target. I guess that I'm losing speed or hitting the riser with my arrows. I use the hot water trick, never had a nock failure.

Same here, plus the shot will usually be a little noisier.

Boiling the nocks to adjust them for fit "WILL NOT" harm them in any way, shape form or fashion, and will get you the exact fit you want.

Filing, or sanding them removes material, and   "DOES WEAKEN" them.

[grouseshooter002]

I heat my nocks in my morning coffee and use the tip of a bread knife to re-size them. No, this doesn't harm my coffee at all.

Regards,
Grouse

[NothingHappenedToday]

Forgot to add: when my nocks are too tight, it wears out the serving on my string faster.

[Randy Koleno]

I use a few passes from an emory board. No problems yet.

[Bladepeek]

I've posted this before, but here goes again. I blew up the only Lost Creek recurve I've ever seen. The left side of the nock sheared off clean. I believe it was one I filed out to fit. Maybe got a square corner at the bottom of the nock valley?

That cured me.

I had a mix of nocks on my Carbon Express and Golt Tip arrows. I found the GT nocks fit my servings exactly and were a good snug fit in the CE arrows. Replaced all my nocks with GT's and now when I order a new string, I have it served to fit that nock.

I sleep better now.

Ron

[TSP]

Strings (and arrows) oscillate quite a bit during the shot so a tight-fitting nock can't be good for arrow flight.  Over the years I've used both heat (boiling water) and sanding (files, sandpaper or emery boards) to custom-fit nocks.  For me, careful/even sanding has proven to be MUCH more reliable, with less chance of weakening the plastic than heating provides.  I no longer use heat unless I'm simply trying to remove a broken nock without damaging the shaft.  Good question, though.